EECS 490: Programming Languages

Fall 2024

Programming languages are rich mathematical structures and powerful user interfaces. This course covers the design and use of modern programming languages. We will build up systematically from formal first principles while considering human factors in language design, language prototyping, and techniques for reasoning precisely about program behavior throughout the course.

The goal is to change the way you think about programming and programming language design in ways that will remain relevant across the many technology hype cycles that you will encounter over the course of your careers.

Welcome to EECS 490, Fall 2024

We're excited to start this semester with you!

Please join the Piazza right away. All announcements will be made there (not on Canvas!)

Lecture will meet the first week of class -- see the schedule below.

Lectures attendance is required. Lectures will be live-streamed via Zoom for your occasional use when you cannot make it in person, but I expect you to come in person most of the time -- this is not a large class, so we want it to be interactive! The link to the Zoom is available from the sidebar.

Lecture recordings will also be available after the fact via the CAEN room capture system, click 'Recordings' in the sidebar to the left. We make no promises about the quality or completeness of these recordings! You are responsible for what is covered in lecture even if it is not legible in the recording.

Exams will be held in person. Make sure you are available on the dates and times indicated below.

Please read the syllabus (linked to the left) as soon as you can. It is required reading.

Make sure to have a computer (not just a tablet) and a reliable internet connection. CAEN computer labs can be used if you do not have your own computer or your internet connection is bad.

Students may also be interested in the following complementary courses:
  • EECS 390 (Programming Paradigms), which focuses more on making effective use of various language features, and less on mathematical first principles and program reasoning.
  • EECS 483 (Compiler Construction), goes more in depth on language implementation topics like parsing and low-level optimization that are covered only minimally in this course.
  • EECS 590 (Advanced Programming Languages) is a graduate-level course on programming languages and program analysis. Graduate students without a prior PL course can and should register for 590 when possible.

Schedule

Open in Google Calendar

Day # Lecture Topic Deadline Readings
Tue 27 Aug 1 Course Overview Required: EECS 490 Syllabus
Thu 29 Aug 2 Programming with Mathematical Expressions
  • Preliminary Survey released
Optional: Cornell CS 3110 Notes, Ch. 2-3 (except 3.1.3)
Tue 3 Sep 3 Recursive Datatypes and Recursion Schemes
  • A1 released
Optional: Cornell CS 3110 Notes, Ch. 4
Thu 5 Sep 4 Equational and Inductive Reasoning Optional: Princeton COS 326 Notes on Reasoning: Basics, Lists
Tue 10 Sep 5 Syntax
Thu 12 Sep 6 Semantics
Fri 13 Sep
  • Preliminary Survey due
  • A1 due
  • A2 released
Tue 17 Sep 7 Variables and Types
Thu 19 Sep 8 Functions (the Lambda Calculus)
Fri 20 Sep
  • A2 due
  • A3 released
Tue 24 Sep 9 Products and Isomorphisms
Thu 26 Sep 10 Sums
Fri 27 Sep
  • A3 due
  • A4 released
Tue 1 Oct 11 Recursive Expressions
Thu 3 Oct 12 Recursive Types
Fri 4 Oct
  • A4 due
  • A5 released
  • Midterm Study Materials released
Tue 8 Oct 13 Constructive Logic (Proofs are Programs) Optional: Propositions as Types by Philip Wadler
Thu 10 Oct 14 Dynamic Classification, Gradual Typing, and Typed Holes Optional: What is Gradual Typing by Jeremy Siek
Fri 11 Oct
  • A5 due
Tue 15 Oct No Lecture - Fall Study Break
Thu 17 Oct Midterm Exam (in class)
Fri 18 Oct
  • A6 released
  • Mid-Semester Survey released
Tue 22 Oct No Lecture
Thu 24 Oct 15 Imperative Programming I - Side Effects Optional: TAPL Ch. 13
Tue 29 Oct 16 Imperative Programming II - Mutable Data Structures 😱
Thu 31 Oct 17 Imperative Program Analysis I Optional: CMU 17-654: Hoare Logic: Proving Programs Correct
Optional: Washington CSE 331: Reasoning About Code (Hoare Logic)
Fri 1 Nov
  • A6 due
  • Mid-Semester Survey due
  • A7 released
Tue 5 Nov 18 Imperative Program Analysis II
Thu 7 Nov 19 Memory Management + Ownership in Rust Optional: Rust Book Ch. 4.1-4.2: Understanding Ownership
Tue 12 Nov 20 Borrowing in Rust
Thu 14 Nov 21 Parallelism and Cost Semantics I Optional: PFPL Ch. 37-38
Fri 15 Nov
  • A7 due
  • A8 released
Tue 19 Nov 22 Parallelism and Cost Semantics II
Thu 21 Nov 23 Concurrent Interaction Optional: PFPL Ch. 39
Fri 22 Nov
  • A8 due
  • A9 released
  • Final Exam study materials released
Tue 26 Nov No Lecture - Happy Thanksgiving!
Thu 28 Nov No Lecture - Happy Thanksgiving!
Tue 3 Dec 24 Distributed Computation and Module Systems Optional: PFPL Ch. 40
Thu 5 Dec 25 Special Topic: Esoteric Programming Languages
Fri 6 Dec
  • End-of-semester Survey released
Wed 11 Dec
  • A9 due
Fri 13 Dec
  • A9 Extra Credit due
Wed 18 Dec Final Exam (10:30am-12:30pm) (Location: TBD)
Fri 20 Dec
  • End-of-semester Survey due

People

For technical questions, please use Piazza. For administrative questions, please email the instructional staff collectively at eecs490staff@umich.edu unless you have a specific reason for contacting a staff member individually.
Photo of Cyrus Omar

Instructor

comar@umich.edu

Photo of Gregory Croisdale
Gregory Croisdale

GSI

gregtc@umich.edu

Photo of Liam Mulcahy
Liam Mulcahy

Grader

lmulcahy@umich.edu